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老交情 (lǎo jiāo qíng) — long-standing friendship; old friend (with whom one has a long-standing friendship)

Definition

Refers to a friendship of many years — either the relationship itself or the old friend. Conveys a sense of long history and trust; common in set phrases like 多年老交情.

noun
long-standing friendshipold friend (with whom one has a long-standing friendship)

Examples

  • 老交情。
    Wǒ men liǎng jiā shì lǎo jiāo qíng le.
    Our two families have been old friends.
  • 老交情。
    Tā hé wǒ shì duō nián de lǎo jiāo qíng.
    He and I share a long-standing friendship.
  • 老交情。
    Zhè fèn lǎo jiāo qíng lái zhī bú yì.
    This long-standing friendship has been hard-won.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

老lǎoold
交情friendship
交jiāoassociate情qíngfeeling
联合Coordinate

'老' means long-standing, while '交' and '情' together form friendship, giving a friendship that has lasted a long time.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →
Appears in
Friends & Social

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